


Good Old Days

by burnjeans



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Garrison fic, Honestly I don't know if I did this justice, Keith does remember Lance from the garrison he's just a lil shit, Klance: origins, M/M, but mostly just background shit, getting together i guess, lance is a salty boi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-25 10:46:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14377029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burnjeans/pseuds/burnjeans
Summary: When Keith returns from the blade, conversations turn into reliving Garrison memories. This, of course, leads to teasing and embarrassment, but mostly, some realizations Lance and Keith should've had years ago.





	Good Old Days

**Author's Note:**

> I meant to post this last night when I got home but I fell asleep almost immediately and woke up in a cold sweat when I realized I forgot to. 
> 
> Anyways, here's my fic for the klance reverse bang!! I was incredibly lucky to be an admin for this event, and even luckier to work with an awesome artist. Her art is incredible, and will be embedded into this fic, but can also be found on [her tumblr.](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/post/173223563404/paladinspride-my-pieces-for-the)
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

When Keith came back from the blade permanently, everyone was ecstatic. Pidge and Hunk practically knocked him over with a hug, and Shiro gave him one of those almost-too-tight-yet-makes-you feel safe hugs. Allura and Coran were less… intrusive, but it was clear they were also happy to see him return. Lance, however, was uncharacteristically standoffish. Other than a soft smile and a “glad to have you back, man,” he kept his distance. 

 

After some time, however, everyone calmed down and retreated to their own activities. Sure, there was some discussion to be had about how Voltron would operate now that Keith was back, but that could be saved for a later date, after Keith settled back in. 

 

Hunk moved into the kitchen to try out some new recipes, with Coran keeping a watchful eye. Pidge was working on some decoding on her laptop in a corner of the lounge, and Matt was in another room with Shiro chatting about god-knows-what. Allura was reviewing some battle plans on a couch, with Lance simply relaxing in the seat opposite her with his eyes closed. 

 

After taking in the scene, Keith opted to sit next to Lance and try to see what was bothering him. “Hey, man,” he started, “Are you okay? You’ve said less to me today than you did on the day we met. And that’s saying something.”

 

Lance snorted and opened an eye to look at Keith. “The day we met? I thought you didn’t remember that, considering you literally asked who I was on the day we found Shiro.”

 

“Honestly, I just tried to repress memories of the garrison as a whole while I was gone,” Keith shrugged, “and then, when I did realize who you were, I thought it’d be funnier to just call you a cargo pilot.”

 

Lance sat up now, eyes completely open. “Keith. The Keith. This Keith, who I am looking at right now.  _ You  _ have a sense of humour? Nope, no, this is impossible to believe. I refuse to accept that.”

 

“You don’t do you?” Keith teased, “What if I jogged your memory a little? Prove to you that I do, in fact, remember you from before that day?”

 

“Be my guest,” Lance scoffed. “Show me what you’ve got.”

 

—

 

First days, Keith supposed, were not this simple for everyone. Of course, not everyone had someone like Shiro helping them get started at their new school. 

 

As they carried his boxes inside from Shiro’s truck, Keith took some time to take in his surroundings and mildly eavesdrop on the students in the nearby dorms. Snippets of conversation flooded his ears, but nothing particularly interesting caught his attention.

Finally, Shiro was passing off the final box to Keith.  With an annoyingly tight “I’m so proud of you” hug and a promise to visit him later, Shiro left Keith to finish settling in on his own. 

 

With a sigh, Keith tied his hair up out of the way and, as per his new routine for the day, listened for any interesting pieces of conversation in the halls:   
“I’m fine mom, I won’t get caught, I swear. I’ll just-”

“Why did you bring  _ that,  _ dude?” 

“-so hot, Hunk, I swear-”

 

Keith rolled his eyes at this last one. Of course there was some idiot already fixated on some stranger they probably didn’t know. While he used his hips to hold the box against the door and dig his keycard out of his pocket, he heard a door open behind him. 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenni_sherwoods_pics/27719988788/in/dateposted-public/)

 

“Well hello there. Are you lost? I can help you find your room.” A voice came from where the door opened. Keith turned his head to see a guy around his height, maybe an inch taller, with tanned skin and obviously pampered hair. He was leaning against the doorframe in an almost pathetic attempt to seem casual. The guy’s expression morphed into something he couldn’t quite recognize- surprise maybe? -but was quickly replaced with a smile. 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenni_sherwoods_pics/41589989831/in/dateposted-public/)

  
With half a smile of his own,  Keith turned to properly face him. “Um, thanks? But I’m pretty sure this is my room. After all, this is my last box and the rest are inside.” He held up the box in question and opened his door. As the door closed behind him, he thought he heard a flustered “-wait!” but ignored it. He had a lot of unpacking to do, but first, it was time for a nap. 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenni_sherwoods_pics/39781754960/in/dateposted-public/)

 

—

 

“I can’t believe Keith just closed the door on you in the middle of a sentence,” Pidge cackled from her seat across the room, not even looking up from her laptop. “That’s a level of ruthlessness I didn’t know he could achieve”

 

Hunk, who had been standing in the doorway listening, moved to take a seat next to Pidge, watching her screen carefully.  “Oh, I don’t think it’s all that hard to believe,” he mused, “I mean, clearly he was wrong, but Lance had on his ‘you’re a pretty girl and I’m gonna flirt with you’ charm turned on because of Keith’s ponytail, so of course–”

 

“Wait a second,” Keith interjected, staring pointedly at Lance. “You thought I was a girl? And yet you’ve been making fun of my hair this whole time?”

 

Lance shrugged. “What can I say, dude. Your hair actually looks nice tied up. Maybe you should do that more often. Anyways, this is besides the point. You closed the door on me mid-conversation. Let’s focus on that.”

 

Keith chuckled. “Sure, we could focus on that, or the fact that you lead me on during the first few weeks, only to suddenly turn on me and declare us ‘rivals’.”

 

Lance blushed as everyone in the room let out a chorus of ‘ohhhh!’s. “Right. Um. Nevermind, let’s just ignore that. We can stop talking about this now. Besides, I wouldn’t call it ‘leading you on’ if  _ you’re _ the one that blew me off.”

 

More whoops and howls. This time it was Keith’s turn to blush. 

 

“Wait a tick,”Allura hummed, “I’m not sure I understand what all of this means. ‘Leading him on’? ‘Blew him off?’ What exactly happened between you two?”

 

Pidge closed her laptop, pulling it into her lap. “You know what? Me neither. Please, Lance, enlighten us. Tell us what happened back in the day.” She grinned mischievously across at Lance, who couldn’t help but groan.    
  
“Okay, okay. Fine.” He relented, “I’ll spill.”

 

—

 

As far as first classes go, Lance’s wasn’t all that bad. The teacher seemed okay enough, if a bit strict. On a more positive note, the teacher assigned seats alphabetically by last name, so he ended up behind ponytail guy from the day before, whose name he found out, was Keith Kogane. 

 

Now, let’s get one thing straight. Lance was not. Sure, he was prone to falling for a pretty girl across the way, but that did not lessen his appreciation for guys. Lance’s original attraction to the so-called “girl” across the hall with the nice hair in a ponytail didn’t change with the discovery that he was not, in fact, a girl. Sure, they haven’t spoken since their first brief conversation, but Lance was fascinated. Because come on, the teacher knew who he was before he even said a word. What kind of reputation did he have for that to happen? 

 

Instead of asking him, Lance looked across the room for validation from his best friend Hunk, who seemed to be too absorbed in the syllabus they’d been given to acknowledge him. With a sigh, Lance resigned himself to staring at the back of ponytail guy’s head for the rest of the class. 

 

—

 

When the next class came, Lance found himself in the seat next to ponytail guy. Lance took this opportunity to lean over and make conversation. “Hey, Keith, right? I’m Lance. The guy that lives across the hall from you?”

 

Ponytail guy – Keith –looks up at Lance and gives a half-smile. “Yeah, that’s me. Are you handling classes okay so far? Or is your only skill showing people to their rooms after they’ve already found them?”

 

Lance, taken aback, blushes, but quickly recovers. “Well, I wouldn’t say that’s my  _ only _ skill. I’m told I’m great on dates, but you wouldn’t know that.” He scribbles something on a scrap of paper and tosses it on Keith’s desk just as the teacher raps on the board to get everyone’s attention. “Here’s my number, in case you’re interested in finding out everything else I’m good at.” Lance gives Keith a wink and turns his attention to the front of the room, missing the faint blush starting to appear on Keith’s face. 

 

—

 

Days passed. Lance and Keith found themselves seated near each other in almost every class and made small talk, but Keith didn’t find the courage to text Lance until three weeks into the term, late on a Saturday night. Starting at the paper scrap for the umpteenth time, Keith let out a sigh and reached for his phone. 

 

To: Unknown

23:47 Hey, is this Lance? This is Keith, the guy across the hall.

 

Within seconds, a reply came. 

 

From: Unknown

23:47 hey keith! ya this is lance, lol

 

To: Lance

23:49 Okay, cool. Just wanted to make sure I had the number right.

 

From: Lance

23:50 yup it’s me lmao

 

With a sigh of relief, Keith set his phone aside. He had texted Lance. This was enough of a big step for now. He could figure out how to make conversation tomorrow. Before he could turn his concentration to falling asleep, however, his phone vibrated again.

 

From: Lance

23:53 sooooo what caused you to text me finally? you know, three weeks after i gave you my number?

 

To: Lance

23:58 Nothing, really. I just saw the paper while looking through a few things on my nightstand, and figured I’d check to see if it was actually your number.   
  
A groan came from the bed across Keith’s. “Dude, can you save the texting for tomorrow? I’m trying to get some sleep and the annoying vibrating of your phone isn’t helping.”

 

To: Lance   
23:59 Anyways, my roommate’s annoyed at me for letting my phone vibrate. So I’ll talk to you tomorrow, I guess.

 

From: Lance   
00:03 Sure thing! Night, Keith!

 

—

 

On Wednesday, Keith ran into Lance in the dining hall. Or rather, they made eye contact and Lance started moving toward him before he had a chance to decide on what he should do. 

 

“Hey, Keith!” Lance called, bringing his tray over to Keith’s table. “So, Iverson’s class, right? That guy sure knows how to bring down someone’s self esteem.” 

 

“Oh, um, yeah” Keith mumbled. “He’s kind of a dick.”

 

“Kind of?” Lance scoffed, “He made one of the cadets cry last week! Like, damn dude, we haven’t been here that long, could you maybe take it easy on us?” 

 

Keith snorted. “Yeah, because that’s what military units are known for. Taking it easy on people.”

 

“Okay, fine,” Lance conceded, digging into his food, “So it’s their job to go hard on us. But that doesn’t mean we should be treated like robots! We’re people too. We have thoughts and ideas outside of being perfect soldiers or whatever.”

 

With a laugh, Keith took a bite of his own food. “Yeah, good luck getting them to buy into that. My friend Shiro is senior officer here, and he’s always complaining about how nobody seems to know how to lighten up.”

 

Lance choked. “Wait, you know Shiro? That guy’s practically a legend! Top of his class, incredible pilot, yadda yadda yadda. Is that why everyone knew who you were as soon as you walked in?”

 

“Yeah, I guess.” Keith shrugged. “I’ve known Shiro for years, so I’ve tagged along with him to come here a few times. I guess some people just recognized me from that. Doesn’t mean they show any special preference for me though, you saw how I got chewed out for being reckless in the simulator.” 

 

“Yeah, I saw that,” Lance admitted, then smiled at Keith. “But, if it makes you feel better, I think you’re spectacular.”

 

Keith’s face reddened slightly. “Thanks. You’re pretty awesome, too. The confidence you have going into the simulator is incredible. It seems you really do have more than one skill, hotshot.”

 

“Oh, do I.” Lance smirked. “I can show you my incredible array of skills on Friday night, if you want.”

 

Keith’s face went from a slight pink to a full-blown scarlet. “S-sure,” he stuttered, “Th-that sounds good.”

 

“It’s a date, then.” Lance winks and shoots a finger gun at Keith. He stands up and grabs his tray, “See you in class?”

 

“Yeah, see you then.”

 

—

 

“Okay, hold on a second.” Pidge interrupted, “So, Lance asked Keith on a date? Am I the only one hearing this?”

 

“No, you heard right,” Hunk replies, “It’s just that, they, being the idiots they are, screwed it up.”

 

“Well, clearly!” Pidge exclaims, “But how’d they manage to do that?”

 

“Well if you’ll just  _ listen _ ,” Keith explained, “we’ll get to that.”

 

—

 

When Friday came around, Keith’s stomach was full of butterflies, and not the good kind. Anything could go wrong that night, and Keith’s brain wouldn’t stop until it had listed every possibility. There could be some sort of freak accident, Keith could show up underdressed, or overdressed, or he would be too awkward to say anything, or-

 

His train of thought stops in its tracks when he sees Lance walk into the dining hall. He makes a few passing jokes with some of his friends, and makes eye contact with Keith. Keith quickly looks away, but he hears a familiar voice in a strange tone at a table nearby. He looks up to see Lance, leaning on a table and looking at some girl sat there. “Hey, Macy,” came the voice, “Looking fine as always.” The girl groaned and began to respond, but Keith was too distracted by the growing sick feeling in his stomach to hear. He quickly disposed of his tray and rushed out of the dining hall, escaping to his room. 

 

A couple hours later, his phone began to buzz.   
  
From: Lance

21:31 hey where are u

 

Keith huffed in anger as he picked up his phone and deleted Lance’s number. Fucking asshole. He should’ve known. He tossed his phone aside as more texts came in.    
  
From: Unknown   
21:35 keith???

 

From: Unknown   
21:39 are you there???

 

From: Unknown   
21:47 you okay???

 

Eventually, the vibrating stopped. Keith let out a sigh of relief, and let sleep overtake him.

 

From: Unknown   
23:30 hey idk if i did something, wrong, but txt me if you get this, ok? im sorry for whatever happened…

 

—

 

“Woah, woah, woah, wait.” This time is was Lance who stopped him. “You blew me off because you were jealous of  _ Macy _ ? Dude, I’ve known her since we were kids! It’s a running joke for me to ‘flirt’ with her, but she was like, practically my sister!”

 

“Well obviously I didn’t know that!” Keith defended. “Besides, I just ignored one date. You’re the one that tried to start that whole bullshit rivalry thing.”

 

“Oh yeah,” Pidge hummed, “How did that start?”

 

—

 

After Keith stood him up, Lance was determined to get Keith’s attention again. He would make as much noise as possible when finishing tests with the hope that Keith would look up, but no luck. He started being more and more obnoxious during the simulator and every other opportunity, but nothing he tried could capture Keith’s attention. Pretty soon, every cadet in their class knew about the rivalry, either from Lance talking about it or seeing firsthand how competitive he got. 

 

In the end, Keith managed to effortlessly best Lance in every category without giving him a second glance. He scored higher on the written exams that he turned in after Lance left the room and passed every simulation with ease. Whenever he succeeded at something particularly difficult, he would spare a quick glance at Lance and allow himself a small smirk after seeing the shock on his face. Eventually, they got placed in separate pilot classes, and Keith would only get to best him occasionally. 

 

After Shiro’s disappearance, Keith stopped allowing himself even those small joys. He grew more reckless in the simulator, and punched Iverson when he tried to chew him out. This ‘little altercation’ got him expelled from the Garrison, and he left without a word. Fuck that place. He didn’t need a school full of asshole students and lying teachers. He could figure things out on his own. 

 

Lance, however, was distraught when Keith left. Hunk heard no end to his complaining, and he missed an entire week of class moping in his room. Hell, he had almost gotten expelled himself, before a letter came under his door notifying him of his new position in fighter class. From that moment on, Keith was pushed to the back of his mind as he worked to earn his place, but that didn’t lessen the blow when they met again rescuing Shiro. 

 

—

 

“Wow.” Pidge broke the silence hovering over the room. “That was... a lot. Thanks for sharing. Hunk, Allura, wanna come help me with that thing?”    
  
Hunk nodded and began to follow, but Allura wouldn’t budge. “What thing? I don’t recall any- oh, yes. That thing. Yes, let’s go, shall we?” The trio exited the room, leaving Keith and Lance alone. 

 

“Soooooo,” Lance began, “We kinda screwed things up, didn’t we?”

 

Keith releases a sigh, rubbing his temples. “Yeah, I guess so. You started the rivalry just to get my attention back?”

 

“Yeah,” Lance confirmed. “And you pretended not to notice to get back at me for ‘flirting’ with someone else?”

 

“Mmhmm.”

 

“Wow.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“We really are idiots.”

 

“Yeah, we are.”

 

“Well,” Lance laughed, “I don’t suppose that, now that we know our idiot past selves just misunderstood everything, we could maybe start over?”

 

“Well, I’m not sure how useful starting over completely would be,” Keith corrected, “But yeah, I do believe a second chance is in order.”

 

Lance hummed, then grinned. Getting onto one knee, he grabbed Keith’s hand and spoke with a dramatic flair: “Keith Kogane, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me? For real this time, without any of the confusion?”

 

Keith chuckled and pulled Lance up into a tight hug. “Yeah. I’d like that” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for joining me on my first ao3 fic! Hopefully I'll post more things soon, but I'm happy this is what I started with. If you want, you can find me on tumblr and twitter as @/elissigh.


End file.
